So this is a bit of a saga which I've been helping my sister with.
My sister rented a property which the agreement ended on 19/11/18 and has decided to move in with her partner. She gave notice on the property on 18/10. She requested the deposit back (1300 quid) via DPS on 04/11.
The landlord turned up at the property on the evening of 04/11 however she wasn't in. He gave no warning of the visit. He returned again on 05/11 with a locksmith and changed all the locks placing a handwritten notice in the window stating he had repossessed the property. This brokw the law and became an illegal eviction under Protection from Eviction Act 1977.
So far he has refused any form of communication either with ourselves or DPS.
On Friday my sister and I spoke to DPS and incredibly there is no set period that the landlord has to respond to the deposit refund request. If she wants to expedite she will have to write him a letter giving him 14 days (done today) If he does not respond she then has to submit a Statutory Declaration which needs to be signed by a solicitor, at her cost.
They then give him another 14 days at which point it's then referred to Court, which the current lead time was quoted at 8-12 weeks.
I find it absolutely incredulous that it should have to take all this. I thought the whole point of the protection schemes was to prevent the need for court action.
Am I wrong in thinking there's pretty much no point to DPS if they just wash their hands when things go wrong as that is pretty much what they'll do if he refuses to engage.
Am I wrong that there should be a set time that landlords & tenants alike should have to respond to DPS correspondence and failing to do so automatically proceeds with whatever action is in that communication?
If everything goes to maximum timescale my sister will not get her deposit back for 5 months.
My sister rented a property which the agreement ended on 19/11/18 and has decided to move in with her partner. She gave notice on the property on 18/10. She requested the deposit back (1300 quid) via DPS on 04/11.
The landlord turned up at the property on the evening of 04/11 however she wasn't in. He gave no warning of the visit. He returned again on 05/11 with a locksmith and changed all the locks placing a handwritten notice in the window stating he had repossessed the property. This brokw the law and became an illegal eviction under Protection from Eviction Act 1977.
So far he has refused any form of communication either with ourselves or DPS.
On Friday my sister and I spoke to DPS and incredibly there is no set period that the landlord has to respond to the deposit refund request. If she wants to expedite she will have to write him a letter giving him 14 days (done today) If he does not respond she then has to submit a Statutory Declaration which needs to be signed by a solicitor, at her cost.
They then give him another 14 days at which point it's then referred to Court, which the current lead time was quoted at 8-12 weeks.
I find it absolutely incredulous that it should have to take all this. I thought the whole point of the protection schemes was to prevent the need for court action.
Am I wrong in thinking there's pretty much no point to DPS if they just wash their hands when things go wrong as that is pretty much what they'll do if he refuses to engage.
Am I wrong that there should be a set time that landlords & tenants alike should have to respond to DPS correspondence and failing to do so automatically proceeds with whatever action is in that communication?
If everything goes to maximum timescale my sister will not get her deposit back for 5 months.
